Woolnough named WPC ambassador
SANDPOINT — A longtime educator, Sandpoint resident A.C. Woolnough views his role as an ambassador for the World Parkinson Congress as an extension of what he’s always done — teach.
“I try to be an advocate, I try to inform, educate and just talk about what it means,” Woolnough said. “I basically try to dispel the stereotypes.”
Woolnough, a former English teacher and principal in California and Alaska as well as in Sandpoint, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease shortly after retiring after a 37-year career in education. A second generation person with Parkinson’s, Woolnough became involved with the Parkinson’s Foundation as a member of their People with Parkinson’s Advisory Council and as a research advocate.
“It’s kind of like when I was teaching, the simplest way to put it is I hope to make a difference,” Woolnough told the Daily Bee. “Now I’m retired and until the COVID hit, I could fly standby and sitting around just doesn’t do it for me.
He enjoys traveling and meeting new people and promoting the World Parkinson Congress. Often, Woolnough and his wife, Pam, are talking to Parkinson’s groups and encouraging them to attend the event if they can.
The event is the only international conference where everyone — patients, care partners, research scientists, clinicians, and doctors who are treating people with Parkinson’s — get together and trade perspectives and trade information.
“One of the best things about is that the scientists and researchers historically may not even know anyone with Parkinson’s so this gives them the chance to see, ‘Oh, this is what we’re doing and why we’re doing it.’ ”
Woolnough doesn’t limit his advocacy to those with Parkinson’s. He writes a monthly column and is a frequent speaker in the region — something COVID-19 has put the brakes on for the moment.
“When my dad was diagnosed, he was classic Parkinson’s, he was a big man but he was stooped over, he walked very slowly, he moved slowly, he talked slowly and softly. He was like the poster child for Parkinson’s in terms of what most people think of, an old man shuffling and shaking,” Woolnough said.
“Now I want to dispel that stereotype, particularly because more and more, getting what’s called young onset PD,realizing that it’s probably always been there, it was just rarely diagnosed. People didn’t think somebody in their 30s or 40s could acquire Parkinson’s.”
He talks about the challenges that come with Parkinson’s but also takes about the pluses — the opportunity to travel and meet new people, many who have become close friends. He is active in research studies and encourages other persons with Parkinson’s and their care partners to get involved as well, noting the disease is the second most common neurological disease in the United States, just behind Alzheimer’s.
“I enjoy the opportunity to stay busy, stay involved,” he said. “We met a lady on the Pacific Coast Trail who was blown away by the fact that there was a bunch of us with Parkinson’s doing an eight- or nine-day backpacking trip and her statement was very zen. She said something to the effect that, ‘You can because you do and you do because you can.’ That’s actually got a fair amount of truth in it.”
The congress is more than two years away and Woolnough said he hopes it’s far enough away that the pandemic will long be a thing of the past by the time it is scheduled to take place.
“In the meantime, though, it’s very frustrating,” he said. “I had three trips planned to go talk to groups about the congress and they all had to be canceled.”
Woolnough is one of 15 Parkinson ambassadors appointed by the World Parkinson Coalition for the sixth World Parkinson Congress in June 2022.
“We are thrilled with our newest group of Parkinson’s Ambassadors,” Elizabeth Pollard, World Parkinson Coalition executive director, said in a press release announcing the ambassadors. “Their combined years of living with PD and experience as advocates in their communities gives them incredible insight to what is helpful to people with Parkinson’s. They will be advocates for the WPC while they raise awareness about Parkinson’s around the globe as we count down the months to the 6th World Parkinson Congress.”
Affecting nearly one million Americans and 10 million people worldwide, Parkinson’s disease is the second-most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s. There is no cure for Parkinson’s and 60,000 new cases are diagnosed each year in the United States alone.
The 15 ambassadors represent 11 countries, and in their 100-plus years of combined years of living with Parkinson’s, they have spoken to government bodies, started nonprofit organizations, led advocacy movements in their countries, mentored and educated newly diagnosed people with Parkinson’s and spent years advocating for better care for the Parkinson’s community.
The WPC Parkinson’s Ambassadors will be promoting the most unique international conference in the Parkinson’s space. Every three years the WPC brings together basic scientists, neurologists, general physicians, nurses, rehab specialists, clinicians, as well as people with Parkinson’s and their caregivers. Our mission is to bring experts and people with Parkinson’s together to better understand each other and advance both the clinical and research goals of discovering new treatments — their purpose, impact and usage.
In addition to writing a monthly magazine column, Woolnough’s book, “On Fire”, was published in time for the fifth World Parkinson Congress in Kyoto, Japan, last year, where he gave several presentations.
Woolnough and the 14 other WPC ambassadors from around the world draw on their years of experience as advocates in the Parkinson’s community to act as ambassadors for the WPC in the two-and-a-half years leading up to the World Parkinson Congress in June 2022 in Barcelona, Spain.
In addition to Woolnough, WPC ambassadors are: Alison Anderson, United Kingdom; Alejandra Borunda, USA/Mexico; Miriam Bram, USA; Geoff Constable, Australia; Rui Couto, Portugal; Sandra Elms, Australia; Richelle Flanagan, Ireland; Larry Gifford, Canada; Christine Jeyachandran, Peru/Australia; Heather Kennedy, USA; Jon Pawelkop, USA; Werner Remmele, Scotland/Germany; Shanthipriya Siva, MBBS, DO, India; and Omotola Thomas, United Kingdom/Nigeria
The World Parkinson Coalition Inc. provides an international forum for learning about the latest scientific discoveries, medical practices, caregiver initiatives and advocacy work related to Parkinson’s disease. The triennial World Parkinson Congresses provide a space for the global Parkinson’s community of researchers, clinicians, health care professionals, people with Parkinson’s and their care partners to meet in person, network, and discuss advances in Parkinson’s research, improve understanding and promote advocacy worldwide, while influencing future research and care options. The WPC 2022 will attract more than 4,500 delegates.
“It’s an incredible feeling to know you are a part of an organization or a program that makes a difference,” Woolnough said. “I feel both honored and humbled to have the opportunity to work with the congress.”
Information: wpc2022.org
Caroline Lobsinger can be reached by email at clobsinger@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @CarolDailyBee.